Extramarital Sex

General Overview

Extramarital sex is sexual activity that occurs outside the confines of a legally bound or recognised marital relationship.
It includes actions such as adultery, which involves a married individual engaging in sexual relations with someone other than their spouse, and fornication which involves sexual relations between individuals not married to each other.

Many Christians oppose extramarital sex as it violates the sanctity of the marital bond and the commitment made before God.
The Bible often speaks against adultery; one of the Ten Commandments explicitly forbids it.
Fornication is also discouraged in Christian teaching as it goes against the ideal of sex within a committed marital relationship.

In Islam, extramarital sex is a serious sin. Marriage is considered a sacred bond and sexual relations outside of this are seen as undermining this sacred bond.
The Qur’an explicitly forbids adultery and consequences are severe to discourage such behaviours.
Zina, Islamic legal term referring to unlawful sexual intercourse, includes both adultery and fornication.

Some secular viewpoints may take a more liberal approach to extramarital sex, provided it involves consenting adults and does not cause harm.
Some argue that it is unrealistic to expect individuals to only have one sexual partner in their lifetime and that maintenance of personal autonomy outweighs traditional views on marriage.
However, many still value the commitment and trust in a relationship, and see adultery as a betrayal of these.

A Utilitarian approach might focus on the consequences of extramarital sex. If it leads to happiness without causing harm, it could be deemed acceptable.
A Kantian ethical perspective would consider extramarital sex to be immoral, as it would involve using another person simply as a means to an end.
From a Virtue Ethics perspective, whether or not extramarital sex is permissible would heavily depend on factors such as the intentions behind the act, and whether it aligns with cultivating virtue and good character.